On Mon, Nov 25, 2013 at 07:31:33AM +0000, Bo-Erik Sandholm wrote: > Am I to understand that everything is OK if I use the third order > plugins to work on my first order tetramic recording. And then I > can expect everything to be as it should if I decode just the first > order info via a first order ambdec ?
Yes. The _signals_ for any (e.g. 1st) order are a subset of those for higher order. But a low order decoder will use them in a different way than a higher order one. If your DAW allows to connect only the 1swt order outputs of the panners you don't even need a 3rd order bus and master. > As a follow up question, would it be to my advantage to have the input > signals "converted" to third order and stay there even for the decoding. > Even if I only have a speaker rig of a circle of six horizontal and 2 > speakers on the floor and 2 in the ceiling. Only if you expect them to be used at a place where a 3rd order decode is possible and available. On your own rig you would still have to use only the first order subset, as it can't be used for 3rd order (not enough speakers). When using panning I'd be prepared to create and mix higher order content in a studio that has only 1st order monitoring (if that 1st order system is OK). But I'd not consider any automatic 'upordering' if I can't check the result. > Depending on the answer how about if I reconfigure the playback to > a horizontal hexagonal ring of 6 and top and bottom rings of 4, > the intra speaker distance in the 4 rings being the same as the > distance between the speakers in the hexagon? 4 + 6 + 4 would support second order, but not third. For 3rd you'd need something like 6 + 8 + 6 + 1, with the rings of 6 at + and - 45 degrees elevation. > Does third order decode add any advantage ? It certainly does if the material is generated in third order directly, i.e. using multitrack techniques and panning. OTOH, in my experience, natural 1st order recordings (made with a AMB mic) give much better results whem reproduced using a *correct* 1st order decode than when processed into higher order using e.g. Harpex. At least if you expect something that sounds natural rather than directional effects (which may be what is wanted in some cases...) I routinely use AMB playback systems for e.g. EA music concerts, creating virtual speakers wherever the composer wants them. This is a lot more practical than providing or moving real ones for each and every piece. For this sort of thing, 3rd order is the minimum that works well enough for someone expecting an ad-hoc speaker system for his composition. And of course, if the composer creates his work directly in 3rd order AMB (as I encourage them to do) the results are even better. Ciao, -- FA A world of exhaustive, reliable metadata would be an utopia. It's also a pipe-dream, founded on self-delusion, nerd hubris and hysterically inflated market opportunities. (Cory Doctorow) _______________________________________________ Sursound mailing list [email protected] https://mail.music.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/sursound
